People blamed for water woes in West

WASHINGTON - Human activity such as driving and powering air conditioners is responsible for up to 60 percent of changes contributing to dwindling water supplies in the arid and growing West, a new study finds.

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Those changes are likely to accelerate, says the study published Thursday in Science magazine, portending "a coming crisis in water supply for the western United States."

The study is likely to add to urgent calls for action already coming from Western states competing for the precious resource to irrigate farms and quench the thirst of growing populations. Devastating wildfires, avalanches and drought have also underscored the need.

Researchers led by climate expert Tim P. Barnett at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, studied climate changes in the West between 1950-1999. They noted that winter precipitation falls increasingly as rain rather than snow, snow melts faster, river flows decrease in summer months, and overall warming is exacerbating dry summer conditions.

The researchers used statistical modeling to compare climate changes that would have happened with natural fluctuations over time, to climate changes with the addition of human-caused greenhouse gases and other emissions from vehicles, power plants and other sources.

They found that most changes in river flow, temperature and snow pack between 1950 and 1999 can be attributed to human activities, such as driving, that release emissions including carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The changes they observed differed significantly from trends that could be attributed to natural fluctuations between wet and dry periods over time, they said.

"The climate's changing in the West. We've known that. The question is why, and no one's really addressed that," Barnett said in an interview. According to his study, "The answer is it is us."

"The picture painted is quite grim so it's time to collectively sit down and get our act together," Barnett added, suggesting the need for conservation, more water storage, and a slowdown on development in the desert Southwest.

"The building is just going crazy, so it would be a pretty good idea to put a curb on that unless they can figure out how to get more water," he said.

The study also included researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of Washington, Seattle, and the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan.

"Our results are not good news for those living in the western United States," they conclude. The research "foretells of water shortages, lack of storage capability to meet seasonally changing river flow, transfers of water from agricultural to urban uses and other critical impacts."

This is so idiotic. The amount of "greenhouse" gas contributed by those acitvities is miniscule compared to those produced by china and India or by volcanoes. And are they really arguing that global warming is now a regional phenomenon that can be controlled by regional efforts?

This is so idiotic. The amount of "greenhouse" gas contributed by those acitvities is miniscule compared to those produced by china and India or by volcanoes. And are they really arguing that global warming is now a regional phenomenon that can be controlled by regional efforts?

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notice no mention of immigration in the article? like that's not an issue here?

oh wait, immigration can only be mentioned with the following key phrases present 'we're a nation of immigrants' 'immigrants enrich us with their diversity' 'hard working immigrants'

mentioning immigration in an article where immigration causes problems is BANNED

And are they really arguing that global warming is now a regional phenomenon that can be controlled by regional efforts?

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Unless you show me where in the article they are arguing the above, I'll have to answer you with a resounding "NO" and call you on a blatent strawman (or a really dumb question).

They're point appears to be that man has caused (or greatly contributed to) the warming which has left the South West with less water. More people in SW + less water in SW = need for conservation in SW, more storage in SW, less development in SW and yes, a global change in habits.

I'm not arguing whether they're right or wrong, just that that's their point.

I'll bet that the article was printed just as it was freely written -- no censorship involved.

Without the development of the SW, there would be need for the supporting illegal/legal immigrants. Remove the gringo and the immigrant goes away. I'm not suggesting that as a solution, just pointing out the REAL source of the problem -- the original development.

I'm a residential developer here in the SW. Can't believe people are still moving here and buying my houses. Don't know where the water is going to come from -- we already have to drill 800 ft deep to get the stuff and it's going down fast.

I lived in a region in California that went from sparsely populated to densely populated over 5 decades. The humidity went up from poeople watering their lawns, that is the climate change you could notice... We built enough infrastructure for the legal citizens, now there are millions of fricking Mexicans leeching off our supplies, who cares if the water runs out? Why care about anything if a bunch of leechy bastards are just waiting to screw it up?

We built enough infrastructure for the legal citizens, now there are millions of fricking Mexicans leeching off our supplies, who cares if the water runs out? Why care about anything if a bunch of leechy bastards are just waiting to screw it up?

In my area of California (Mojave desert), they're not "leeching", they're digging ditches, building houses, mowing grass, trimming trees, cleaning houses, baling hay, etc. The hispanic culture I see out here is one of the hardest working I've encountered.

If they're here legally, my hat's off to them -- they have a wonderful work ethic by overwhelming margin.